Village Community and Serfdom in E?igla7id. 133 



Jiundredonim or the Cartularies in the reign of Edward I., shows a much 

 larger amount of required labor at the later period. ' 



In one instance we have positive evidence in detail of this increase in 

 burdens. The residents of Weston, in Bedfordshire, made a complaint to 

 the officers of Edward I. that, in the reign of his grandfather, King John, 

 they were accustomed to labor in autumn only for three harvest days, on 

 which days they were provided with food at their lord's table, one day of 

 fish and two of meat. But William de Bokland, to Avhom King John 

 granted the estate, increased the aforesaid service by one additional day, at 

 the lord's table. Afterwards the aforesaid manor came to John Tregoz, who 

 augmented the service to such a degree that now they perform ten days' 

 work in autumn at their own providing, and one day besides. "■' Here we 

 have on record an actual example of an abuse of power by the feudal lord, 

 in increasing the burdens of his serfs, such as we must suppose to have 

 been common in those evil days. It is a significant point that the extortions 

 here described were not the work of one man, but of three successive pro- 

 prietors. 



As to the phrase in question — to do " every week what work they are 

 bid " — it is best explained as a general authority to call upon them when 

 there was need, with an understanding that no unreasonable demands 

 should be imposed iipon them. In this respect this obligation resembles 

 the feudal aids and tallages, which also were levied at discretion, but were 

 understood to be only occasional, and implied nothing servile in the relation. 

 Feudal aids and tallages were nevertheless liable to abuses and extortion 

 by reason of their indefiniteness, and were at last defined by law. So in 

 like manner the indefinite obligations in question gave opportunity for ar- 

 bitrary exactions, like those in the manor of Weston, described above. It 

 may have been the case, too, that such obhgations as these were not uni- 

 versal, but peculiar to such and such an estate. The tenth century docu- 

 ment, Rectitudines singidarum personarum, says distinctly that the 

 obligations vary, being lighter here and heavier there; but what it describes 

 as the usual ones are much less in amount than what was common in the 



' Compare, for the earlier period, the Rectitudines singularum personarum, the Codex 

 Diplomaticus, No. 977, and the ilhistration given by Mr. Seebohm, p. 157: for the twelfth 

 century, the Domesday of St. Paul, and the Abingdon Cartulary, Vol. 11, p. 301 ; for the 

 close of the thirteenth century the documents are very abundant, the most numerous ex- 

 amples being in the Rotuli Hundvedorum and the Gloucester Cartulary, Vol. III. 



' In tempore Regum Henrici et Johannis dicti homines non consueverunt operari in au- 

 tumpno nisi tantum tres messes in quibus diebus debebant exhiberi in cibis et potibus ad 

 mensam doniini una die in esu piscium et aliis duabus in esu carnium. Postmodiim Willelmus 

 de Boelond augmentavit dictum servicium et per ipsum crevit per unam diem messis ad 

 mensam domini. Postmodum Hamo le Crevequer tenuit dictum nianerium in eodeni statu 

 toto tempore . . . Item deinde venit dictum manerium ad manus .Johannis Tregoz qui praedic- 

 tum servicium augmentavit in tantum quod modo flunt decem operaciones in antumpno ad 

 mensam suam. Item praeter istam operacionem exigitur ab hominibus praedictis una 

 water-bederipe et fit. Et tunc bibunt aquam, et hoc crevit i)rimo per dictum Hamon, 

 etc. Rotuli Hundi-edorum, i. 6. 



